Thorns of Fate: Serendipity Saga Book One

Chapter Two

I stood above the crowd, dazed at the dizzying string of people talking excitedly amongst themselves as they trekked through the heavily guarded entrance. Security had been increased for this evening, anticipating (or even just hoping) for a larger crowd than our scheduling would account for in the future. As it turned out, these accommodations were more of a necessity than a nicety as throngs of people milled in the club and a line of ecstatic potential club-goers stretched around the block.

All my first day jitters seemed to be quashed under the anxious flow of people. Despite the hype around opening day, and all our PR team had done to put the word out, there would always be a tiny voice in my head anticipating failure. It was a relief to see that not only was that little voice proven wrong, but our numbers had exceeded our most hopeful expectations.

With perfect gradual deceleration, the music died down and the lights dimmed. A spotlight flicked on and swiveled up to my position on the balcony overhanging the dance floor. From here, I got the best view of the club as a whole. I could see the bar and each of the patrons, the door with three of my best bouncers and a roar of activity beyond, as well as the dance floor, still lit with pulsing lights that had been toned down for my pronouncement of the opening.

All eyes moved to me, including a shady figure pressed into the center of the crowd below me. The figure's hood was drawn up, not entirely out of place among party-goers of all varieties of accoutrements, but for some reason it caught my attention. From what I could see of the face, they had pale skin and nearly violet eyes that blazed beneath the shadow of the hood. The color was shocking and unusual.

"And now, a word from our gracious host!" The loudspeakers blared the words of Sean, our DJ, as she bellowed what was to be my cue to begin.

My eyes darted to her, a woozy feeling filling my belly. I had anticipated maybe a bit of stage fright, but this was dark and deep within my gut--a feeling of wrongness. Sean glanced up at me, her eyes wide. I could read the words within them. You've got this. Go!

I cleared my throat. I swept my gaze across the crowd, looking again for the hooded figure. I could see the dark hood making its way through the crowd, headed not for one of the public exits, but for a door at the back of the club which led to a dark alley for trash dumps and deliveries only. I knew from my previous check of the property that it still had a huge ASSOCIATES ONLY sign smacked across its front and was guarded by two bouncers in and of itself.

"Now, for Ms. Kyra Santina!" Sean said again, urging me forward with her eyes. She had smoothed over the lapse between her introduction, and my distracted fumbling of the beginning of my speech.

I cleared my throat again, looking down at the hundreds of faces eagerly staring back at me. "Thank you for that graceful introduction, Sean! As many of you know, there has been a lot of thought and hard work that has gone into the grand opening of Club 920. Our seeds are now coming to fruition as the most exciting fruit this city has seen in decades! Thank you all for coming out tonight to share with us in this joyous occasion!"

I gestured at the bar below and Anton and his team waved back at me. "I'd like to issue a quick thank you to our Bar Manager, Anton Lereaux, and his stunning team of mixologists!" Cheers roared around the room, so loud that even the low pumping of bass was drowned out. "As is only expected, there are to be no attendees below the age of 21 indulging in their exquisite refreshments. But for those of us old enough to partake, their drinks are quite the delicacy!

Another thank you to DJ Sean for her display of dazzling lights and her amazing mixes of music which seem to fit the mood of Club 920 flawlessly." Another round of applause filled the room.

I scanned the crowd again, locating the dark hood beside the end of the bar, meer feet away from the bouncers who would surely toss them out, should they continue making their way to that employee exit. "And while there are a plethora of others I should spend time thanking, right now, we all know you want to get back to enjoying this glorious atmosphere! Last but not least, I'd like to issue endless thanks to my right hand and Club Manager, Tyler Castello!